blog

Meeting the Challenge

February 19th, 2019 / by Health Volunteers Overseas

Recently, the World Health Organization compiled a list of ten threats to global health in 2019. The highlighted threats are diverse and nuanced, like many of the challenges facing the global health community, ranging from antimicrobial resistance to noncommunicable diseases to weak primary health care, air pollution and climate change.

At HVO, we are ready to build on more than three decades of experience fostering partnerships and strengthening health systems, in order to answer the call to address these and other pressing global health issues.

While the threats identified by the WHO span a broad spectrum, they all share at least one thing in common: a skilled and motivated health workforce is essential to meeting the challenges they present. Health workers, especially those based in resource-scarce countries, are on the front-lines in the fight against epidemics; they provide essential education to patients in the prevention and treatment of disease; and they help their communities cope with the effects of pollution, conflict, and other large-scale threats to population health.

HVO relies on equitable partnerships to deliver education and training to the global health workforce because we know that well-trained, skilled and motivated health care providers are the key to addressing global health challenges by ensuring quality health care is available to everyone, everywhere.

As humanity faces new and evolving global health threats, we must accelerate the exchange of knowledge between practicing providers, and support those in training to ensure that all communities have access to timely and effective health services. HVO Deputy Director Beth MacNairn highlighted the urgency of this work in her Trends in Global Healthpost:

Although HVO’s approach is gradual and focused on long-term impact, it is also imbued with a sense of urgency, for we know that quality of life and life itself are at stake on a daily basis. From fragile newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit, to survivors of road traffic accidents, to late stage cancer patients, quality health care delivery relies on trained and motivated providers working in responsive, equitable, adequately funded and well-managed systems.

The World Health Organization has highlighted some of the most pressing problems threatening global health in 2019, and we are ready to face these challenges, calling on our most powerful tool: people working together. Please, join us.